What is a feasibility study? Sometimes, school districts consider regionalizing to share services and save money, or de-regionalize to become their own K-12 district. In other instances, towns who tuition their students to another district (for example, to a high school) may want to terminate that sending-receiving relationship. In all of these cases, a feasibility study is required that analyzes the demographic, financial, racial, and educational impacts on such a reorganization.
Statistical Forecasting and its team of experts have conducted many feasibility studies exploring reorganization of school districts. Regardless of the type of feasibility study, our consultant team reviews volumes of data including community demographics, enrollment projections, racial balance, existing curricula, and the financial impact on each community. Based on our findings, we provide an impartial and objective summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the status quo compared to the reorganization. Dr. Grip has testified in several administrative law hearings as an expert in school demography discussing the results as summarized in the feasibility studies.
feasibility study
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GIS MAPPING
demographic study
The quality of a Statistical Forecasting demographic study is unsurpassed. When we ask our clients for feedback on our studies, their number one response is that it was "the most in-depth and thorough demographic study that they have ever read." We pride ourselves in developing comprehensive, yet easy-to-understand studies, and producing accurate enrollment projections. Our client satisfaction rating is unparalleled. If you want further proof, just ask our clients.
A demographic study is not just projecting enrollments for a district. This recently completed study for the Woodbridge Township School District (NJ) demonstrates the comprehensiveness of our reports. In this study, we analyzed community housing turnover, district race and poverty trends, births by attendance area, and computed student yields by housing type (apartment, townhouse, one- to four-family, etc.), in addition to projecting enrollments.
Statistical Forecasting uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, which is the latest technology to provide a visual medium for analyzing demographic issues. While the use of maps can answer many different questions across a spectrum of disciplines, here are just a few:
•How should attendance areas be aligned to ensure school capacities are being maximized?
•Which developments have the greatest number of students per housing unit (that is, the highest student yield)?
•Where are the greatest number of children being born?
The slideshow below illustrates a few of the uses of mapping software.
Maps #1 and #2 show the locations where students live as well as their zoned elementary attendance area. However, it is more helpful to aggregate where students live by some level of geography, such as Census Block or Tract, to show where the greatest number of students live. Map #3 illustrates the number of students by Census Block, which is greatest in areas colored dark red.
Map #4 shows the location of each new housing development, which helps to show the impact of future housing by elementary attendance area and is critical in developing accurate enrollment projections by school.
Map #5 shows the number of historical births by Census Block at the elementary attendance area level, which helps to show the elementary schools that are likely to have the greatest number of kindergarten students five years later.
Student address data can also be "joined" to other databases. Map #6 shows where the greatest student yields are (number of children per housing unit). This was created by joining Census data, which contains the number of housing units at the block level. The dark purple Census Blocks have the greatest number of children per housing unit.
Maps #7 and #8 show the areas in a school district where students would change schools as part of redistricting, as well as the number of affected students. Redistricting analyses are one of our most popular services for our clients.